CHICAGO, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Critics say they fear there is a lot of fraud involved in a controversial program that fast-tracks U.S. citizenship for investors in so-called regional centers.
The EB-5 visa has led to a sharp increase in sales pitches that tempt wealthy foreigners to sink money into development projects with the promise of high returns and an inside track on gaining U.S. citizenship.
"Frankly, I think there's fraud in a lot of these," immigration lawyer Anna Morzy told the Chicago Tribune. "A lot of these regional centers, I don't know if I'd recommend them."
Regional centers are economic development projects in areas of the United States. The Tribune said Sunday that foreign investors who pony up $500,000 get themselves and their families into an express lane in the citizenship process.
One such project is a $52 million complex of athletic facilities, trails and restaurants in the Illinois town of Lakewood that has investors from China and Dubai involved.
Backers of the system say it creates jobs. "It's a win-win for everybody," Taher Kameli, a partner in two Illinois regional centers, told the Tribune.
But critics contend it pushes through projects against the wishes of residents, and is unregulated when it comes to who is investing and whether or not the projects promise too much in return.
